Disclaimer: Do not own it. (Is it really necessary to post this every chapter? I mean, yes, between the time one and the next chapter are posted, someone's spontaneously going to buy the rights to FE. But, wait, um, no. I highly doubt it.)
I feel the need to point out right here that if I did own it, Jaffar would say more than "..." 24/7. Periodically, he might say, "...?" or "...!", just to shake things up. xD
Oh, but I do own Dusk!
Dusk: ... -is afraid to say anything-
Me: Well?! Is that it?! I didn't give you the same personality as Rath or Jaffar! -raises bow menacingly-
Dusk: -runs off screaming to hide behind Serra-
Heath bit his lip as he walked along the winding mountain path. He'd temporarily allowed Hyperion some freedom so the wyvern could fly without the usual weight of its rider while at the same time hunting for a meal.
The green-haired man was, well, confused. Why had the thief given him the Delphi Shield? Surely any of the three pegasi sisters or at the very least Vaida would have accepted it, so why Heath? Had he just been the first flier Legault had seen?
He shook his head, biting his lip. He was being irrational, putting too much thought into a simple gesture. The man had been firendly before, and he was just being friendly now. Yes, that was it. But... but why did he want it to be something more, why did he want the thief to have spoken to him out of more than passing interest?
Unnoticed, the thief in question fell into step beside him.
"Hey," he said.
"Hm?" Heath blinked, brought out of his reverie. When he was it was Legault, his expression darkened. Then man was causing him no end of trouble...!
"Uh-oh. Looks like someone hates me. What a pity," Legault drawled, grinning a little.
"You.. Your name's Legault or something, right?" Heath asked, like he hadn't spent most of the day thinking about him.
"Oh, so you remembered?" He sounded mildly surprised. "Hey, can I ask you something? You look like a wyvern rider, but... Why are you here?"
"You know the answer to that without asking, don't you? I'm a deserter from the knights of Bern," Heath answered, wondered what the thief was getting at.
"A deserter... So, why'd you desert?" the thief pressed, studying him intently.
"Who knows..." Heath muttered. "Maybe the plundering, the wholesale slaughter of innocent people..." He trailed off, remembering. "Those are both part of a deserter's pedigree, are they not?" he finished, raising an eyebrow.
"No, not you," Legault replied confidently. "Your eyes aren't so corrupt. You have pride. Your eyes tell me that you're sure what you do is right."
"Why... Uh..." Heath wanted to asked him why he cared.
"Hm?" Legault prompted expectantly.
"Why are you here?" he asked instead.
"Now that is a long story. Put simply... I'm like you..." He paused, a sad expression on his face. "I fled from an organization, too," Legault explained.
"Was it the Black Fang?" Heath wanted to know.
"Yep. I'm a fugitive, and you're a deserter," he said, recovering his carefree mindset. "Looks like you and I were made for each other," Legault added with another grin.
"...Speak for yourself," Heath muttered, glad that, at that moment, Dusk walked up.
"Hello, lovelies," he said, unusually cheerful. A roll of parchments was clutched in one hand. "Looks like it's about to rain..." He frowned slightly. "Well, whatever. Heath, could you scout behind us? Check if we're being pursued and all that. I'd ask the pegasi sisters, but they're scouting ahead, and you know how Vaida can be... So, thanks!" He strolled past, picking his way back to harass the mounted units struggling there.
"...Better them than me," Heath mumbled. He looked to his side, but Legault was gone. The wyvern lord shrugged and have a shrill, piercing whistle.
About a minute later, Hyperion landed beside him. Heath quickly mounted and rose into the air, glad that the dark clouds hid the late afternoon sun from view.
As they flew back over the mounted units, rain began to fall...
It was evening. Somehow, they'd managed to make it to the pass without further mishap, though they were slowed not only by the rain, but by the horses as well.
Everyone was cranky, so when the scouts reported a somewhat sheltered valley higher up, everyone jumped at the chance to get out of the biting wind that stole what little warmth they had left from the rain, so it raised morale considerably.
Dusk in particular was in an excellent mood. He'd found reason to tell off the Witless Wonder (coughEliwoodcough) not once, but twice! In one day! Yes, he was very, very pleased, although his mood was dampened somewhat by the fact that Merlinus and the supply tent would be out of commission for the next battle or two until they could procure another tent.
Most of the staves, magic tomes and axes had been saved, but the majority of the swords and lances, as well as roughly half of their other items, vulneraries and whatnot, had been lost.
It seemed that a little over half of the tents had been damaged beyond use too, which also annoyed Dusk, but it worked well for other reasons. ((Heh heh.))
He'd been drawing up a chart, a chart of who would have to share tents with whom, and once they set up camp... He would tell them. Oh yes, he could already imagine it, and this cheered the tactician as well, which contributed to his good mood. Now all he had to do was drop the news of shared tents to someone gossipy, and his plan would go perfectly...
Dusk cackled evilly at the thought, earning him several funny looks from the units surrounding him.
"What're you writing, Dusk?" asked Serra, sidling up behind him in a futile attempt to peer over his shoulder at the sheet of parchment which he had ordered Pent to magically waterproof so he could write as he walked, but as he was about 6', the shorter cleric couldn't see over his shoulder.
"Eh? Oh, Serra. Well-" he sighed dramatically, "-you know how-" his voice dropped to a whisper here, "-a certain lord-" he looked pointedly at the Witless Wonder, then continued normally, "-allowed Merlinus to be attacked because he disobeyed orders?"
"Uh huh. But what does this have to do with your paper?" Serra asked, completely captured.
Yes! thought Dusk. "Well, more than half of our tents were burned, so I'll have to draw up a sleeping chart... It's such a lot of work, though... I can't figure out whether some people would work out coupled together..."
"Oh!" Serra's eyes sparked in recognition. "I've got a few suggestions, actually..." She stood on her tiptoes and whispered several names into his ear.
Dusk's evil grin widened as he listened and nodded.
Yes. His plan was going perfectly.
"Hm..." He glanced down at his sheet, re-reading some of the names he'd written there:
Legault/Heath
Wil/Rath
Sain/Kent
Nino/Jaffar
Karel/Lucius
He smirked as he imagined the chaos, quickly scribbling down the names Serra was telling him... ((A/N: So, idk, if you have any pairings you want to see, review and I'll try to include them, as long as they don't involve any of the people above. Hm, a pairing with Karel... I dunno, it seemed like there was something going on with him and Lucius in their A support... But back to the story...))
By the time they arrived at the valley the pegasi sisters had spoken of, everyone was completely soaked, miserable and frozen, as the temperature had dropped steadily since it had begun to rain.
"Hey, everybody! I've got good news!" Dusk exclaimed gleefully, standing before the assembled troops.
"Why is he always so blasted cheerful in these situations?" Hector grumbled to Lyn, who shrugged and replied,
"'Cause he's secretly evil?"
"As you all know, we had an unfortunate accident occur today. Our esteemed merchant and cook, Merlinus, was attacked and his tent was burned, along with about half of our total supplies, including tents and as such-" some people groaned, sensing what was coming next, "-I have drawn up a sleep chart detailing who will be sharing tents!"
Everyone groaned this time. How could the deranged tactician consider that 'good news'?!
"...Now I know why," Hector muttered to Lyn.
"He really is evil... Look at his expression! He's clearly enjoying this..." she grumbled, shivering a little.
"Anyway-" Dusk continued, ignoring everyone's groans, "-here's the list!!"
He pulled out a roll of parchment and began to read, "Sain and Kent will be sharing a tent, as will Wil and Rath, and Lucius and Karel, and Jaffar and Nino--"
"What?! What the hell?! I hardly think it's proper for two people of opposite gender to share a tent!" Eliwood burst out indignantly, evidently still smarting over Dusk telling him off earlier.
"Well-" Dusk fixed the Pheraen lord with an evil, patented 'Dusk' glare, "-unless I'm mistaken, no one else would be willing to take Nino's place, Lord Eliwood! No offence, Jaffar," the tactician added.
"..." Jaffar shrugged; it was common knowledge few trusted him.
"I'm actually fine with it, Lord Eliwood," Nino said. "Jaffar would never do anything! Right Jaffar?"
"...Yes," Jaffar acknowledged, nodding slightly.
"So, unless you'd like to share a tent with Jaffar, I suggest you wait quietly until I read who you're to share your tent with!" Dusk growled. "By the way, those who've been called may go to Merlinus, who'll distribute your tents. I've given him a copy of this list as well, so you'd better not try and change tent mates!" he added sternly.
"...Shouldn't you talk to him about that? It was... disrespectful of him to speak in such a fashion to Eliwood," Lyn murmured to Hector, shivering again.
"Yeah, whatever," Hector muttered absently, listening for his name.
"-Heath and Legault-" were announced when Lyn followed suit.
From behind the two blue-haired lords came a soft groan.
Hector didn't hear, but Lyn turned and saw a green-haired wyvern lord... Heath, that was his name. His wyvern was settled farther back, taking shelter in a copse of trees.
"Is there a problem, Heath?" asked Lyn. He bit his lip, she saw, probably a nervous habit.
"Hm? Oh, no, Lady Lyn. I'm fine," assured the knight.
"If you're sure.." she muttered, turning back at his quick nod.
As Dusk read off the rest of the people paired together, Heath felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Stop it, you're being ridiculous! he told himself, chewing on his lip anxiously. Really... He sighed and started looking around for Legault so they could go collect their tent.
"Hey," the thief greeted, spontaneously appearing beside him. He held a tent bag under his arm. "Sorry about all this hassle..."
"...It's all right," Heath muttered. "If you want, we can set up the tent over there in those tree-" he pointed to where Hyperion was sleeping, "-it should be slightly less wet."
"Yeah, I guess," Legault agreed, following him there.
"You shouldn't bite your lip," the thief remarked. "It's a bad habit, you know?"
Heath blinked. He'd been doing it unconsciously. "Oh, all right, mother," he replied, as he might have done back when he'd still been part of Bern's knights. "When you give up stealing, that is."
Legault looked startled. "Eh...?" Then he started to laugh. "Wow. You just made a joke! What're the odds?"
"Well, I tend to do that, from time to time," he mumbled as they walked under the branches of the first tree.
"...I was just, um, sh-shocked," Legault explained awkwardly.
Heath shrugged. "How about here?" he suggested, indicating a spot where the branches of two trees overlapped. "The sooner I can take off this armour, the better!"
Legault shivered. "I h-hate the cold," he agreed, shaking slightly.
They set up the tent quickly, and even in that short time Legault started to shiver even harder. He pulled his soaked cloak more tight about himself, teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"They're probably handing out dry rations, why don't I go get them?" Heath offered kindly. "You can go in and change into something dry and warmer too," he added, not as affected by the cold weather.
Legault nodded. "G-good idea," he muttered, immediately disappearing into the tent.
As Heath had expected, Merlinus had been granted a smaller tent and was dealing out rations. Heath got in line, shivering slightly. His metal armour sucked all the heat he had away from his skin, but he was somewhat used to it from the days he'd spent wandering with Hyperion.
"Um, I'm also getting rations for Legault," Heath said once it was his turn. Merlinus nodded, checked a sheet of parchment he had, then handed him two slabs of bread, an apple, an orange and two slices of beef jerky, as well as two empty cups.
"Thanks," Heath said and hurried back to the tent.
Carefully, the wyvern rider eased up the flap, and managed to get in.
Legault was sitting near the back, wearing only his boxers. ((Which of course they had back then!)) His clothes were piled in a heap near the entrance.
"...Don't you have any other clothes?" Heath asked, setting the food before him, then sitting down to eat.
"N-n-no," the thief shivered, hesitantly taking the apple.
"Really? How about a bedroll? Extra cloak?"
"D-destroyed in the f-f-fire," Legault explained, hugging himself with one arm.
Heath couldn't help but notice how pale the thief seemed in the dim light, his lips tinged blue from the cold. He was slender, as thieves tended to be, and what little bulk he did have was all muscle... Free of its bonds, Legault's hair hung down to the small of his back, and short, thin scars criss crossed all over his torso...
Heath's eyes travelled lower and he blushed slightly.
"U-um, you can wear one of my spare shirts. I... guess we'll have to share a bedroll, so I'd best go get it." He rose quickly and rushed outside, relieved that the rain soon cooled his burning face. He fumbled a little the the straps of the saddlebags but managed to get them off in the end.
It was colder now, he was certain of it as he rushed back to the tent.
The thief was still sitting there, trembling from the cold. He'd eaten all of his food in the short time Heath had been gone.
Heath dumped his pack and bedroll onto the floor, sat down and started to unbuckle the straps of his breastplate.
"Here, l-let me," Legault mumbled, crawling over to sit behind Heath. His entire body seemed to be shaking, yet he somehow managed to removed the wyvern lord's breastplate and shoulder armour.
"Thanks," Heath muttered gratefully as the thief began to remove the armour that protected his hips. He froze when Legault's hand brushed the inside of his thigh as he leaned over to takee off the armour over his shins.
"S-sorry," he stammered, drawing back, and Heath wasn't sure if the slip was from the cold or from embarrassment.
"It's... all right," he muttered, quickly removing his bracers and shin armour. He placed them carefully to the side of Legault's clothes before stripping off his boots.
His pants, shirt and socks quickly followed.
"How ca-can you wear that armour?" asked Legault, studying the objects in question. "It looks pr-pre-pretty heavy."
"You get used to it," Heath replied, rummaging through his pack. He produced a shirt and a pair of pants.
"...Um, hm... Why don't you have the shirt and I'll take the pants?" Heath suggested, glancing back at the thief.
"H-huh? Oh, y-yeah. Sure." Legault blushed and accepted the offered article of clothing. He quickly pulled it over his head.
Heath shrugged and put on his pants. He then unrolled the bedroll, which he seriously doubted would be able to decently fit both of them, and said, "You can get in, if you want.
The thief slithered in immediately, pulling the cover so far up that only the tip of his head was showing. The cover trembled violent, so Heath pulled out his extra blanket, earning an appreciative squeak as he settled it carefully on top before turning to his food.
He ate quickly, thinking thoughtfully ((yes! excellent! xD)) on what had happened that day.
Once he was finished, he carefully laid out his and Legault's clothes so that they'd be dry in the morning.
Satisfied, the wyvern lord carefully lifted the covers, only to discover that Legault was already asleep, curled into a ball for warmth.
Trying not to disturb the thief, Heath slipped in beside him, surprised at how cold it still was underneath.
Several moments after, Legault snuggled up against Heath, pressing his face against the other's chest. Heath shivered and froze, unsure of what to do, but the thief slept on peacefully, ignorant to how he was pressing his colder body against Heath's warmer one.
Another several moments after that, Heath relaxed enough to shift the slightly taller man into a more comfortable position before, rather hesitantly, wrapping his arms around the thief's shoulders and falling asleep as well, curled protectively around Legault...
Author's Note: Hm... Slightly shorter than the previous chapter, but I think I liked it... But that's beside the point. What really matters, dear reader, is if YOU liked it, so go click the review button and tell me, OK? Or Dusk will do something violent.
Dusk: Yeah. Like hit you over the head with my sheet of parchment. -rolls eyes- So watch out.
Me: ...Not exactly what I had in mind... o.O;;